Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
The Honorable Minister, Trade, Industry and
Investment, members of the high table, distinguish ladies and gentle men.
Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Taala Wa Barakatuhu.
It is my pleasure to welcome you all to
this august occasion. I wish to use this opportunity to thank the organizers of
this event especially my sister the Honorable Minister of State for Industry,
Trade and Investment for bringing the Sensitization forum to Sokoto State.
This is a welcome development in our State
as it gives our people exposure to opportunities they may not even be aware of.
With the support of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment
through the Sugar Council, our citizens can now participate profitably in the
sugar value chains.
As Nigeria is now diversifying the economy,
I wish to emphasize that Sokoto State is open for business and I want to
encourage small scale farmers to join their hands and pursue these
opportunities. I wish to call on our people to network and interact with the
stakeholders present here today for more information on the sugar value chains.
The 10 years sugar master plan cannot come
to full term through the government only, the private sector must engage.
Therefore, there is need for the good people of Sokoto State to participate in
the program to uplift the economic status of our State and Nigeria in general.
The value chain has various employment
opportunities from the field to the table. That is, from the sugar cane
planting, weeding, harvesting and processing, many people will be engaged like
the workers, engineers, input suppliers, marketers and consumers. Sokoto State
has the land to do this and more, example major industrialists are already
acquiring major portions of land in the State to do this.
At this juncture, I would like to call upon
the good people of Sokoto State especially women and youth to make sure they
join this great opportunity and be empowered to ensure sustainable development
for a better future. At this point, I declare the Northern Region Sugar
Sensitization Workshop open.
Wassalam
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